The Death of Music: How Quality and Talent are Going out the Window

This is the first part in a series of articles that deal with the music industry’s collapse into commercialism and profiteering over the more important aspects of music, like quality and talent. Too many good musicians are being overlooked for ones that will sell. Although today it is far easier to get recognition for performing music than it was prior to the internet age, artists are used as commodities by the music world rather than valued for their actual musical worth.

True, today you can get recognition for almost anything you do. Look at Tila Tequila! She launched a career in music, modeling, and acting just by creating a MySpace page and garnering a fan base. Years ago, it would have been impossible for a regular person to gain such recognition. Hence, the internet age has brought many positive effects for would-be musicians seeking to make a name for themselves. However, Tila’s example itself shows how twisted and commercialized the music and media industries are.

I agree with capitalism and market economies, and I’m all for companies selling their respective products. But you have to draw the line somewhere in terms of quality control. You have a system where talented and capable musicians are being neglected and overlooked at the expense of “artists” who have more shock value, better sex-appeal, or crazy antics. Why is Britney Spears still performing and making money? Why are so many redundant and simple beats and samples written into many new rap songs? Why is the rock genre today a formula for bad singing, simple power chords, and trite drum lines? Why is “punk” synonymous with “emo”? Because it all sells. The producers and record executives should play a larger role in raising the quality of music, not lowering it. I agree that people listen to pop music, even if it’s bad, because it’s catchy and fun. It’s what sells because the fan base are people who know nothing about real music.

Music is art; a form of expression. It’s supposed to make you feel something as the artist portrays his/her message to you both in the lyrics and structure of sound. What you feel is a connection, a relation, or simply the beauty and harmony of the world. Music shouldn’t be degraded to background noise or downloadable ringtones. Quality should not be sacrificed at the expense of commercialism. Many professional musicians (real musicians) make music because it is their lifelong passion and career. They’re not in it for the money. Take a look at the often-cited jazz musician. Stereotypically, he is a poor man who performs every night in a dingy basement of a big city to a happy audience. He’s making music because it makes him and his fans happy, not commercially successful. Shouldn’t we demand more quality and talent in our music?